1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.
2. Background Art
Semiconductor devices having a double-resin-sealed structure formed by two shots of resin molding (primary and secondary molding), and methods of manufacturing such a semiconductor device, have been known, as disclosed, e.g., in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. S63-42151.
Further, there have also been known semiconductor devices that are configured to be compact and to allow their external terminals to be bent to the desired location above the semiconductor elements of the devices, as disclosed, e.g., in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-89681.
In the semiconductor device disclosed in this publication, cylindrical connection members are electrically connected to the semiconductor elements, and these cylindrical connection members and semiconductor elements are covered by a transfer molded resin, except for portions of the cylindrical connection members. Separate external terminals are inserted into the cylindrical connection members.
Conventional semiconductor devices are typically configured to have internal and external terminals that are integral with each other. In the manufacture of such semiconductor devices, after semiconductor chips, etc. are mounted on a lead frame and molded with a resin, the leads of the lead frame, which eventually serve as terminals, are cut and bent or shaped to produce individual semiconductor devices. In this case, however, the freedom in designing or selecting the configurations of the terminals is limited by manufacturing restrictions associated with the lead frame and the molding die.
In the case of the semiconductor device disclosed in the above Patent Publication No. 2012-89681, its external terminals are separate components and connected to the cylindrical connection members of the semiconductor device after the semiconductor elements, etc. are transfer molded with a resin. This provides increased freedom in selecting the configurations of the external terminals. However, this technique requires that the external terminals of the semiconductor device be located above the semiconductor elements and extend upward to ensure insulation of the external terminals. In order to achieve this, the external terminals are inserted into the cylindrical connection members of the semiconductor device, which are exposed at the top surface of the molded resin. Thus, this semiconductor device must be provided with some connection members (such as the cylindrical connection members described above), and the external terminals of the semiconductor device must project from the top surface of the semiconductor device, thus limiting the configuration, location, and orientation of the external terminals. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the configuration of the semiconductor device in order to provide greater freedom in selecting the configurations of the external terminals.